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Leverstock Green F.C.

Pancake Lane,
Leverstock Green,
Hemel Hempstead,
Herts.
HP2 4NQ

(H) Dorking Wanderers

Leverstock Green put up a great effort against a side two levels higher in the non-league pyramid, and even briefly led the game at one stage, but in the end Bostik League Premier Division side Dorking Wanderers came away with the win and ended the Green’s impressive run in the Emirates FA Cup at the Second Round Qualifying stage.

Despite the rain which persisted all afternoon there was a good crowd of 130 at Pancake Lane for this afternoon’s game. The visitors made the stronger start, with Jason Prior heading just wide from a free kick in the 3rd minute. Leverstock’s first effort on goal came in the 13th minute when Jonathan Lacey beat a defender on the left edge of the penalty area before hitting a shot which was saved by Dorking keeper Slavomir Huk. Seconds later at the other end a pass from Kieran Lavery put Niall McManus through on goal but he shot wide.

In the 21st minute Luke Preedy played a great ball forward to Lacey, who worked the opportunity for a shot from the edge of the box which went just wide. Three minutes later it was Lacey playing a great ball to put Brima Johnson away down the left. Johnson outpaced defender Isaac Philpot but his cross was cleared from in front of goal. The ball was back at the other end shortly afterwards, and Lavery received the ball with his back to goal inside the box, with Preedy in close attendance. Preedy made an effort to get the ball, but brought Lavery down, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Prior sent Arvydas Kacinkevicius the wrong way from the spot to put Dorking into a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.

Prior came close to adding a second for the visitors on 31 minutes but his long-range shot brought a great save out of Kacinkevicius, turning it round the post. In the 38th minute a foul on Chris Blunden just outside the box gave Leverstock a free kick in a great position. Blunden’s first effort hit the wall, but his second effort was a cross to the far post where Lacey headed back across goal to Alex Witham, whose header was deflected over the bar. The resulting corner taken by Lacey went over the keeper to the far edge of the box, where Witham put the ball back into the danger area. Although Blunden was close to the ball, it was Lavery who put through his own net to put Leverstock back on level terms at 1-1.

The Green were back in the game, but they would have to play the rest of it without their skipper Shane Wood, who in trying to turn quickly went over on his ankle during the build-up to the goal. After five minutes of treatment Wood had to leave the game to be replaced by Alex Yearwood. The resulting stoppage time saw two more goals scored. Three minutes into stoppage time a Dorking defender tried to pass the ball back to his keeper Huk, but didn’t spot the presence of Lacey, who intercepted the back pass and stroked a superb finish past Huk to put Leverstock into a shock 2-1 lead. However, the lead lasted less than a minute as Dorking went straight back down the other end and a pass through the middle put McManus through to level the scores at 2-2.

Leverstock’s impressive first half display prompted the visitors into a double substitution and a change of formation at half time. It was still a closely-fought battle, with Leverstock having another couple of chances around the hour mark, both near-misses from Blunden. The first was a shot from the edge of the box which was saved by Huk, the second a free kick from just outside the box which took a slight deflection and hit the bar. Having gone so close to going back in front, Leverstock found themselves back in arrears in the 63rd minute as they were caught on the break from a corner. A great run from substitute Tom Tolfrey was spotted by Lavery, who threaded the ball into his path, and having comfortably beaten the offside trap, Tolfrey went on to slot past Kacinkevicius for a 3-2 Dorking lead.

Leverstock went close again three minutes later as Luke Nugent went on a run down the right before laying off for Yearwood, who hit a great curling shot which Huk did well to turn round the post. However, towards the end of the game it was Dorking who were looking the stronger side, and after Kacinkevicius had pulled off a couple of good saves to keep Leverstock in the game, finally in the 86th minute Lavery was put through to take the ball round the Green keeper and slot home the fourth goal which sealed his side’s victory.

Despite the result it was an excellent hard-working performance across the park from the Leverstock side, who rarely looked two levels inferior to their opponents. With the FA Cup run over, Leverstock must now turn their attention back to the league, where they have played the fewest number of games in the division, starting with a tough visit to Biggleswade United next Saturday.

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(H) Enfield Town

Goalscorers: Charlie Milton (19), Deandre Blake (34), Lucas Preston (65).

The reward for this excellent win is an away tie at Colney Heath in the Second Round Qualifying on Monday 1st October.

Starting XI:
Tom Palmer
Harry Barrett
Ben Harris
Charlie Milton
Luke Hewitt
Max Jessop
Lucas Preston
Paplamin Jawara
Deandre Blake
Lewis Collins
Alec Wallace

Substitutes:
Santino Diniro (USED)
Adam Froom (USED)
Charlie Payne (NON USED)
Archie Taylor (USED)
Bryce Barnes-Garner (NON USED)

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(H) Raunds Town

Leverstock Green continued their excellent form with another cup win and another clean sheet as they beat Raunds Town 4-0 in Saturday’s FA Vase Second Round Qualifying tie at Pancake Lane. It was a comfortable enough win and could have been by a bigger margin, but the visitors from the United Counties League Division One showed resilience and came away from the tie with a lot of credit.

Leverstock took a while to get going, winning some early corners but not really threatening the Raunds goal, and they were forced into an early change when Jonny Miller had to leave the game injured in the 21st minute, to be replaced by Alex Condon. The first near-miss came in the 23rd minute when Jonathan Lacey interchanged passes with Luke Nugent before crossing for Alex Witham, who played it sideways to set up Alex Yearwood for a shot that went into the side netting. Three minutes later Condon’s shot from a corner was blocked, and in the ensuing scramble there was a shout for a handball, but the referee did not give it.

Raunds had their first chance in the 31st minute when the ball was played through to Fernand Bass, but his shot was comfortably gathered by Arvydas Kacinkevicius. A minute later a ball from the back was flicked on by Witham into the path of Chris Blunden, who outpaced the last defender and shot home confidently from outside the box to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

The visitors had another good chance in the 37th minute when they broke quickly from a Leverstock corner, but Dalitso Mandson shot wide of the target from a good position. There was a long period of stoppage time due to the treatment to Miller, and later to Condon, and in the fourth minute of stoppage time Leverstock added a second goal. Lacey’s corner to the far post was met with a looping header from Shane Wood which was palmed away by the keeper, but the loose ball was slammed home by Condon.

Two further goals early in the second half ensured that the tie was only going one way. Lacey played a ball out wide to Blunden, whose cross into the box found Luke Preedy, who laid it back for Lacey to shoot home the third goal with just over two minutes played. In the 51st minute Alex Yearwood, making his first start after a series of substitute appearances, added the fourth with a dazzling solo goal, dribbling through the defence before slotting under the oncoming keeper.

After that it seemed just a question of how many more Leverstock would score, but the Raunds side kept their heads up, and a great display from their 16 year old keeper Ciaran Wells ensured that the answer to that question was “none”. Wells parried a shot from Blunden on 57 minutes and gathered a second effort from Witham. On 63 minutes Lacey went on a solo run through the Raunds defence but his shot was turned round the post by Wells. From the resulting corner Preedy struck the bar with a shot and Witham hit an effort just wide.

Witham hit a free kick just wide on 70 minutes, and a free kick from Blunden five minutes later brought out a superb save from Wells as he dived low to turn it round the post with one hand. On 76 minutes a cross from Reynaldo Carbon went over the head of Preedy and dropped for Wood a yard in front of goal, but the ball bounced up and rebounded off Wood’s knee over the bar. Five minutes from time Wells produced another good save to keep out a shot from Blunden with his legs.

The win puts the Green into the hat for Monday’s draw for the First Round proper, which is due to be played on the weekend of October 13th. Leverstock have two further cup ties coming up this week, with a visit to Welwyn Garden City in the Herts Charity Shield being followed by Saturday’s huge FA Cup Second Round Qualifying tie at home to Dorking Wanderers.

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(H) Crawley Green

The under-18s continued their winning start in the SCFYL Corinthian Division with a 5-2 victory over Crawley Green on Thursday night. There were a few changes in the side, and they had to come from behind to win. Alec Wallace scored a hat-trick, with Lucas Preston and Lewis Collins also on the scoresheet.

Starting XI:
Jack Taylor
Kane O’Neil
Sergeis Stremilov
Santino Diniro
Lucas Preston
Bryce Barnes-Garner
Byron Lee-Clarke
Paplamin Jawara
Adam Froom
Lewis Collins
Tejas Mauree
Substitutes (all used):
Alec Wallace
Archie Taylor
Kynen Willis
Liam Lindgren
Reece Morley

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(H) Hadley

The last two remaining Spartan South Midlands League clubs in the Emirates FA Cup met head-to-head at Pancake Lane on Saturday, and they will have to do it all over again on Wednesday night after their First Round Qualifying tie ended in a goalless stalemate.

Leverstock had some enforced changes to their side, with Mark Smith injured and Chris Blunden unavailable, and a further change was forced on them when Alex Condon dropped out through injury in the warmup. It was a hard-fought battle of few chances, which may not have been surprising given the solid defences on display here. Hadley had only conceded in two of their nine previous games, while Leverstock had only conceded the two late goals at Colney Heath in their previous five games.

There was a near-miss for Leverstock in the 6th minute when Jonathan Lacey won a challenge against defender Sam Lyon to get on the end of a goal kick from Arvydas Kacinkevicius, but shot just wide. Five minutes later, after a sweeping move involving Jordon Goode, Alex Witham and Reynaldo Carbon, Luke Preedy hit a long-range effort just wide. At the other end Yemi Buraimoh had the visitors’ only serious effort of the half in the 31st minute, with another shot that went inches wide. There was another good chance for Leverstock five minutes before the break when a ball from Brima Johnson dropped for Sam Nair inside the box, but Nair’s effort was blocked by the keeper.

The second half continued in a similar vein, with Hadley having more of the ball but seeming content to concentrate on defending and hoping to snatch a goal on the break, while Leverstock were struggling to recreate the flowing football of their recent performances. Buraimoh went close again on 52 minutes with a shot that went wide, and Hadley’s Ibrahim Camara shot over the bar from a good position on 65 minutes. Jeff Idemudia continued the pattern of Hadley failing to hit the target when he hit another good chance over the bar on 79 minutes.

Leverstock’s best moment of the half came in the 84th minute when Alex Yearwood hit a ball across the face of goal, but it was just too far ahead of Lacey and defender Alfie Bartram cleared the danger. A minute later Hadley broke away and Bartram set up the best chance of the game for substitute Peter Rosemin, but with the goal at his mercy and to the disbelief of the travelling supporters, Rosemin shot wide. In the final minute Hadley had their first shot on target, but it was tipped over the bar by Kacinkevicius.

As Hadley are currently unable to use their floodlights when there is a possibility of extra time, Wednesday night’s replay will take place at Potters Bar Town F.C., kick-off 7.45 pm. Meanwhile both sides will be taking a keen interest in Monday’s draw for the Second Round Qualifying.

The replay replaces the scheduled visit to Unite MK in the Challenge Trophy, for which a new date will have to be arranged.

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(H) Cockfosters

Leverstock Green U18 won Thursday night’s FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round tie against Cockfosters 3-1.

Leverstock took the lead after 10 mins through Alec Wallace. Three minutes later Deandre Blake made it 2-0 and then scored the third after 22 minutes.

The Green side went into the break leading 3-0, and although Cockfosters pulled a goal back after 52 mins, it is Leverstock who go through to the First Round Qualifying, where they face a home tie against Enfield Town on Thursday 20th September.

Starting XI:
Thomas Palmer
Kane O’Neill
Charlie Milton
Ben Harris
Harry Barrett
Max Jessop
Paplamin Jawara
Byron Lee-Clarke
Deandre Blake
Lewis Collins
Alec Wallace
Subs used:
Lucas Preston
Archie Taylor
Adam Froom
Not used:
Santino Diniro
George Piekarczyk

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(H) Cockfosters

Leverstock Green continued their winning cup form into their league match at home to Cockfosters on Tuesday night and registered their first three-pointer of the season. The Green side have now scored twenty goals without reply in their last three games, and tonight they had to do it with ten men for the best part of an hour after an early red card.

Leverstock went close to opening the scoring with less than a minute played, with a header from a corner being cleared off the line by a Cockfosters defender. However, it only took them until the sixth minute to find the net. Jonathan Lacey started the move with a ball down the middle to Alex Witham, whose early shot was parried away by keeper Adam Seymour. Chris Blunden picked up the rebound and crossed it for Witham, who passed it sideways for Lacey to finish the move with a shot drilled past Seymour.

In the 17th minute Leverstock found themselves reduced to ten men. Arvydas Kacinkevicius played a short kick out to Alex Condon, who tried to control the ball but lost it to a Cockfosters forward. Condon tried to win the ball back but only succeeded in bringing his opponent down just outside the box, and as the last man Condon was inevitably shown a straight red card. Sam Ruff’s shot from the resulting free kick brought a good save out of Kacinkevicius to turn the ball round the post.

The loss of a central defender meant that a forward had to be sacrificed to bring Leverstock’s back four up to its full complement, and it was the unlucky Reynaldo Carbon who was replaced by Jude Bell, but not before the Green had added a second goal in the 22nd minute. Shane Wood had the ball in the Cockfosters box but was pulled down by Courtney Clay. The referee awarded a penalty and showed Clay a yellow card, and Lacey made no mistake from the spot for his second goal and a 2-0 Leverstock lead.

Lacey could have had a hat-trick on 31 minutes as he connected with the rebound after Luke Nugent’s shot had been blocked, but Seymour tipped his shot over the bar. Four minutes later a crossfield ball from Lacey found Alex Witham, whose shot was saved by Seymour. Three minutes before the break a pass from Mark Smith put Blunden in to deliver a cross which was just missed by the sliding Lacey. The last action of the half saw Kacinkevicius save a shot from Ruff after a good run.

Within thirty seconds of the restart, the numbers were evened up as a strong challenge on Luke Preedy from Clay earned the Cockfosters player his second yellow card followed by a red. Leverstock continued to play their fast attacking football, and in the 49th minute a great pass from Blunden put Lacey through to take the ball round Seymour and slot into the empty net for his second hat-trick in successive games. On 54 minutes it became 4-0 as Nugent clipped a superb pass in from the right for Blunden to score with a fine first-time shot.

Blunden and Lacey combined again on 64 minutes, but Seymour came off his line to save Lacey’s shot, and saved again on 71 minutes when Lacey’s ball down the middle put Blunden clean through. Kacinkevicius maintained his clean sheet by saving Aaron Crockett’s shot from a narrow angle on 79 minutes, and a minute later Blunden had another good chance but Seymour saved again.

Another excellent performance across the board from the Leverstock side, with incisive attacking play and solid defence making them a tough proposition for any side at the moment. Having gained a crucial three points from this game, they now face a run of four cup games, with the first of those being at home to Hadley on Saturday in the first round qualifying of the Emirates FA Cup. The winner of that tie will be the last surviving SSML club in the competition.

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